Drive-in theaters used to be a common sight in the Twin Cities metro until the last one standing, Vali-Hi in Lake Elmo, closed in 2022. Now, at least five remain spread across Minnesota’s rural areas.
Drive-ins came to Minnesota in 1947, when “The Bloomington” opened in (any guesses?) Bloomington. The world’s first drive-in was created in New Jersey in 1933. By the time Minnesota gained its first, there were nearly 200 drive-in theaters across the country. Now, there are about 330 remaining theaters in the U.S., with most of them located in New York.
The Long Drive-In Theater in Long Prairie, north of the metro area, opened in 1956 and had numerous owners until 1985, when Michelle Claseman’s parents bought it. Claseman bought the outdoor theater in 2013 alongside her husband Daniel. Now they, with the help of their kids Tyler and Bailey and dedicated staff, run the theater from Thursday to Sunday each week…